Petrol marketers seek N240/$1

Petrol marketers are insisting on the exchange rates of not more than N240 per dollar to import and recoup their investment, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) National Operation Controller, Mr. Mike Osatuyi, has said.

He said the body has met the Federal Government on the issue, noting that foreign exchange (forex), especially dollar, was rising due to its growing influence in the international trade.

He added that investors from developing countries needed an appreciable increase in the value of their currencies to play well in the highly-competitive global market.

In an interview with The Nation, Osatuyi said: “The landing cost of fuel is N181 per litre, while the official pump price of fuel is N145 per litre. So, if we (marketers) import fuel at N181 per litre, and change a dollar at N340, there is no way marketers would cope with such condition. That is why we are requesting that the government sells dollar at not more N240 per dollar.”

According to him, marketers irrespective of their affiliations or groupings are conscious of their costs and returns on investments.

He said the group realised that there would be little or no profit left for the marketers, if the government did not sell dollar to them at N240.

He advised the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to either double or triple the importation of refined petroleum products, adding the idea would help to improve the distribution of fuel in the country.

He said poor distribution of fuel is one of the problems facing the country, stressing that the problem would be resolved when NNPC imports enough fuel.

In a related development, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has called for the full deregulation of the downstream sub-sector.

Chairman, IPMAN Western Zone, Alhaji Debo Ahmed, made the call in Lagos.

He spoke against the backdrop of the fuel scarcity in many parts of the country.

He attributed the lingering fuel scarcity to inability of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to meet the consumption demand.

According to Ahmed, none of the depots of the Pipeline and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), an arm of NNPC, within the western zone has enough petrol to cater to the demands of the public.

“The management of NNPC should increase petrol allocations to IPMAN marketers rather than allocating excess products to NNPC retail stations that have less than 25 outlet within Lagos.

“IPMAN that has over 2,500 members and over 500 outlets across the Southwest was given 30 per cent against 60 per cent agreed by NNPC and marketers,’’ he said.

Ahmed said most IPMAN members closed their filling stations due to the inability of NNPC/PPMC to distribute products to depots for marketers to load adequately.

He said the limited products were having lopsided distribution formula.

“IPMAN was given 30 per cent, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) 30 per cent and NNPC retail 40 per cent as against 60 per cent for IPMAN and 20 for MOMAN; NNPC retail 20.

“The imported petrol by NNPC/PPMC is distributed through the Private Fund Initiative (PFI) system to private depot owners (DAPPMA) to sell to Independent Marketers at a controlled price of N133.28k.

“But, DAPPMA members are selling between N160 and N162 above the regulated price, of which no marketer can buy at that price and sell at the regulated price of N145 per litre,’’ he said.

The IPMAN boss urged the government to intervene and check the activities of DAPPMA as they sold above the recommended pump price. He also urged the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to address defaulting depot owners who sold petrol above the approved pump price. DPR only descends on independent marketers by closing their stations.

“You can only sell what you buy; we are business people, for how long do we close down our stations since we have financial obligations to the banks?

“Probably, the Federal Government may have deregulated without the public being aware. During, the recent Senate committee meeting held with stakeholders in the oil industry, one of the suggestions from the Minster of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, was the introduction of dual price regime.